We use Zapier extensively in our firm. Zapier is a platform that enables apps to ‘talk to one another’ seamlessly. At the moment, we use Zapier to integrate different practice management apps including Practice Ignition, Pipedrive, Asana, Slack, Microsoft 365. ‍

A lot of the ‘zaps’ we use revolve around removing recurring operational tasks from our day-to-day so that we can focus on client delivery. Winning back time in each step of the client journey may appear insignificant at first, but becomes substantial when you multiply this by the number of clients you engage throughout the year.‍

Connecting apps in your sales workflow

Introduction to Typeform‍

Typeform is a way to gather prospective client information. Our current process is to send out a Typeform to each prospective client before we meet with them. This allows us to gather initial contact details and information about the individual we will be meeting with. It also helps guide the conversation during our free initial assessment so we can a) not waste either parties time, and b) understand better where the value might be in the engagement.

If you’ve ever used Typeform, you know how easy it is to create a questionnaire or survey to gather information. For us at Blueprint, we have pretty standard questions that you’d expect to see: first name, last name, email, phone number, etc. ‍

By using Zapier, we’re able to push this information directly into Pipedrive and create a new deal at the beginning of our sales pipeline.

Introduction to Pipedrive‍

If you aren’t using a CRM, you’re failing at tracking your deals. It’s ultra important to know what’s in your pipeline of deals so you know where to focus your effort, who you’ve been in contact with, and what steps to take next to move a deal along your sales pipeline.

At Blueprint Accounting, we recently made the switch to Pipedrive. If you haven’t heard of Pipedrive, it’s quite an efficient tool, especially if you prefer a visual for your sales pipeline.

Pipedrive has some pretty amazing features that really stood out for us when evaluating CRMs.

1. You can create goals for specific periods

2. You can link your email into Pipedrive to create deals

3. It has a slick user interface to visualize your sales pipeline‍

By using Zapier, we’re able to push information on deals back and forth between PipeDrive and Practice Ignition, and automatically create a new proposal when we win the client.

Introduction to Practice Ignition

Practice Ignition is a platform that enables you to manage all your client engagements. We use Practice Ignition to create digital proposals that we email to our clients and they sign electronically. This means we can store all our contracts in one place for our entire client base. To make the engagement process efficient, we have a library of services in Practice Ignition that we use to build each proposal. We also include the payment schedule in the proposal so the client knows what they’re agreeing to from the very start!

The real power of Practice Ignition is their payment collection engine. When the client first signs the proposal, they add in their billing details (ACH direct debit or credit card). At this point, we’ve already got their payment information on file and we get paid automatically.

We don’t ever need to worry about following up late payments, or chasing debtors because they’ve already agreed to the payment schedule when they signed the proposal. It’s also so much easier for the client – they’re not spending time paying invoices.

All round, it’s a much nicer experience for us – and our clients. It’s saved admin time by removing those recurring operational tasks as well as improved cash flow and minimized bad payers.

GETTING STARTED WITH THE AUTOMATION PROCESS

At Blueprint Accounting, we’ve found joy (and more time) as we’ve introduced new ways to automate admin tasks.

If you’d like to work through this process yourself and use Zapier to connect the apps in your sales workflow, I break down how to set up each zap in this guide

> practiceignition.com/blog/pipedrive-practice-ignition

If you’re already a Practice Ignition customer, they currently offer free video calls to help you map out your current workflow and identify ways you can improve your systems and processes using Zapier.